Album: Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

By Live Science Staff |
April 8, 2010 04:59pm ET

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Spider and mite in amber

Credit: J. Dunlop

A teeny tiny ancient mite has been attached to the head of a spider for 49 million years in a Baltic amber tomb. At less than 0.2 mm long, this tiny mite is the smallest fossil to be studied using X-ray techniques that give researchers a three-dimensional view of the parasite. The mite looks like a bubble in the middle of the spider's torso (the body section in the middle of all those legs).

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, M. Svojtka

Thysanoptera encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

Stellate hair of ferns encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, E. Saupe

A spider encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

Fungal spores encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

Ethiopian amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, V. Perrichot

An ant encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

A Trichogrammatid encased in amber.

Ancient Mites

Credit: University of Göttingen/A. Schmidt

Photomicrographs of the two new species of ancient gall mites in 230-million-year-old amber droplets from northeastern Italy, taken at 1000x magnification. The gall mites were named (left) Triasacarus fedelei and (right) Ampezzoa triassica.

Maple Mite

Credit: AMNH/D. Grimaldi

A scanning electron micrograph image of a modern gall mite that’s found on silver maple leaves.

Lots of Drops

Credit: University of Padova/S. Castelli

Droplets of Italian Triassic amb

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Spider and mite in amber

Credit: J. Dunlop

A teeny tiny ancient mite has been attached to the head of a spider for 49 million years in a Baltic amber tomb. At less than 0.2 mm long, this tiny mite is the smallest fossil to be studied using X-ray techniques that give researchers a three-dimensional view of the parasite. The mite looks like a bubble in the middle of the spider's torso (the body section in the middle of all those legs).

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, M. Svojtka

Thysanoptera encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

Stellate hair of ferns encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, E. Saupe

A spider encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

Fungal spores encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

Ethiopian amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, V. Perrichot

An ant encased in amber.

Ancient Life Trapped in Amber

Credit: PNAS, A. Schmidt

A Trichogrammatid encased in amber.

Ancient Mites

Credit: University of Göttingen/A. Schmidt

Photomicrographs of the two new species of ancient gall mites in 230-million-year-old amber droplets from northeastern Italy, taken at 1000x magnification. The gall mites were named (left) Triasacarus fedelei and (right) Ampezzoa triassica.

Maple Mite

Credit: AMNH/D. Grimaldi

A scanning electron micrograph image of a modern gall mite that’s found on silver maple leaves.